Megan Barrow, project manager with the Orlando-based Inspired Placemaking Collective, told the City of Live Oak council that a Finding of Necessity study shows the proposed expansion area meets multiple state-law criteria for inclusion in the city’s Community Redevelopment Area (CRA).

Barrow summarized field observations and data collected from September through November, saying, “What we found is that the study area qualified under the categories of existence of conditions that endanger life or property,” and pointed to dilapidated residential and commercial buildings, boarded storefronts, vacant land and infrastructure deficiencies. She called attention to safety hazards including overgrowth contacting utility lines, which she described as “a life safety threat,” and noted substantial high-hazard floodplain within the study boundary.

Barrow explained the statutory framework to the council: a CRA is a state-designated tool for addressing blight and encouraging investment; projects must be included in the community redevelopment plan (CRP) to be funded by the CRA. She described funding mechanisms such as tax-increment financing (TIF), grants and public–private partnerships and reviewed the Live Oak CRA’s history (founded in 1995, plan adopted 2009, amended 2017) and current sunset date of 2039.

At the conclusion of the presentation, Barrow asked the council to “adopt the resolution that it’s necessary and desirable to expand the CRA,” and outlined the next procedural steps if the council adopts the resolution: update the CRP to include the expanded area, adopt an ordinance to formalize the boundary change (with the option to extend the CRA’s sunset to 2055), and authorize collection of tax-increment revenue from the expanded area.

A councilmember asked whether the proposal was an expansion rather than a new CRA; Barrow confirmed it is an expansion of the existing CRA. Another councilmember observed that, based on the study criteria, much of the city could have qualified and asked whether the team considered the entire city; Barrow said the data covered the whole city but the study focused on the staff-recommended area.

Presiding officer Mayor Frank Davis told the meeting the council will address the resolution after the public-comment section, so the presentation concluded without a formal council vote on the proposed resolution.

Next steps: the council will hear public comment, then the resolution and any ordinance or plan amendments would proceed through the council’s formal consideration process.